Snakes released as part of effort to restore habitats within 16,000 acres near Barrington

Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press

Allison Sacerdote-Velat, curator of herpetology at the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, holds a smooth green snake alongside other conservationists before releasing it in a restored open space near Barrington.

Allison Sacerdote-Velat, curator of herpetology at the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, holds a smooth green snake alongside other conservationists before releasing it in a restored open space near Barrington. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)

Ongoing work to restore and improve natural ecosystems spanning nearly 16,000 acres recently culminated with a gathering of area conservationists and forest preserve officials who circled together in an open prairie in Barrington.

Within that circle, volunteers and board members with Barrington-based Citizens for Conservation, as well as officials from area groups and forest preserve districts, released 22 smooth green snakes — reptiles that officials said are native to Illinois — and watched them slither away and disappear into blue stem grass.

The snake release on July 25, organized by Citizens for Conservation, not only will help maintain ecosystems within open areas near Barrington, but it also symbolizes the progress area conservationists have made on the wide ranging “Barrington Greenway Initiative,” officials who attended the release said.

The ongoing initiative spans Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, and is designed to improve the natural ecosystems of area forest preserves and open spaces, totaling more than 16,000 acres, as well as bolster natural habitats in the area, officials have said.

“These snakes are insectivores, and they help control grazing insect pressure on prairie plants, like grasshoppers, crickets and small caterpillars that do a lot of damage,” said Allison Sacerdote-Velat, curator of herpetology for the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. “You want the wildlife, as well as the plant component, to have a fully functional prairie and savanna environment.”

Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press

Volunteers with Citizens for Conservation and other naturalists recently released smooth green snakes (pictured) in a restored open space near Barrington.

Volunteers with Citizens for Conservation and other naturalists recently released smooth green snakes (pictured) in a restored open space near Barrington. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)

Sacerdote-Velat helped conservationists release the snakes within the Barrington prairie that is a part of the initiative after the museum spent nearly a year raising the smooth green snakes.

Sacerdote-Velat also surveyed the habitat before the snakes were released and determined that the yearslong work to restore ecosystems near the Barrington prairie made for healthy conditions.

“This property has extremely high quality because it has high plant diversity and the right mix of different habitats that snakes rely on, like prairies, wetlands, savanna and sedge meadows,” she said.

With the assistance of Citizens for Conservation, the Lake County Forest Preserves, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Audubon Great Lakes and others, area conservationists have been working to clear invasive brush and spread native plant seed within the 16,000 acres that are a part of the initiative.

One of the main goals of the initiative is to try and expand different wildlife populations in the Chicago area that typically are restricted by smaller, disjointed habitats, which are common in urban areas, according to Citizens for Conservation.

The Barrington Greenway Initiative was created with the idea of linking different habitats together, including a north-south plan for connecting habitats in Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

The plan includes linking prairies, wetlands and forest preserves that run in an arc from Popular Creek Forest Preserve, south of Interstate 90, north to the Fox River Preserve in Port Barrington, officials with Citizens for Conservation have said.

Aside from celebrating area conservationists’ work on the initiative, the recent snake release was meant to honor Tom Vanderpoel, a longtime conservationist in Barrington and director with Citizens for Conservation, who died suddenly of a heart attack in August 2017 at 66 years old.

Vanderpoel, who has been remembered for his expertise and willingness to share his knowledge about conservation issues, was a leader behind the Barrington Greenway Initiative before his death, officials have said.

His brother, Jim Vanderpoel, attended the recent release. He said Tom Vanderpoel always stressed the importance of restoring ecosystems and rebuilding animal populations that are native to the area.

“This was one of his top goals — the snakes,” Jim Vanderpoel said.

tshields@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @tshields19

Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press

Volunteers with Citizens for Conservation and other naturalists recently released smooth green snakes in a restored open space near Barrington.

Volunteers with Citizens for Conservation and other naturalists recently released smooth green snakes in a restored open space near Barrington. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)